Lynette Cegelski is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

physical chemist and chemical biologist who studies

extracellular This glossary of biology terms is a list of definitions of fundamental terms and concepts used in biology, the study of life and of living organisms. It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical definitions ...

structures such as

biofilm A biofilm comprises any syntrophic consortium of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other and often also to a surface. These adherent cells become embedded within a slimy extracellular matrix that is composed of extracellular ...

s and membrane proteins. She is an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and, by courtesy, of

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. She is a Stanford Bio-X and Stanford ChEM-H affiliated faculty member.

Education

Cegelski studied chemistry at SUNY Binghamton in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and graduated ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' and a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

in 1998. She then worked in the lab of Jacob Schaefer at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

(WUSTL), earning a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

Biophysical Chemistry Biophysical chemistry is a physical science that uses the concepts of physics and physical chemistry for the study of biological systems. The most common feature of the research in this subject is to seek explanation of the various phenomena in ...

in 2004. Her post-doctoral work was in Molecular Microbiology at the Washington University School of Medicine.

Research

The Cegelski Lab investigates the structure and function of bacterial cell walls and extracellular structures, including amyloid fibers and biofilms.

Key Publications

Cegelski has authored or co-authored multiple publications that have been cited 100 or more times. As of January 2021, these include: * "The biology and future prospects of

antivirulence Antivirulence is the concept of blocking virulence factors. In regards to bacteria, the idea is to design agents that block virulence rather than kill bacteria en masse, as the current regime results in much more selective pressure (on antibiotic ...

therapies," ''

Nature Reviews Microbiology ''Nature Reviews Microbiology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed review journal published by Nature Portfolio. It was established in 2003. The journal publishes reviews and perspectives on microbiology, bridging fundamental research and its clinical, in ...

.'' * "Morphological plasticity as a bacterial survival strategy," ''Nature Reviews Microbiology.'' * "

Small-molecule Within the fields of molecular biology and pharmacology, a small molecule or micromolecule is a low molecular weight (≤ 1000 daltons) organic compound that may regulate a biological process, with a size on the order of 1 nm. Many drugs ar ...

inhibitors target

Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...

amyloid biogenesis and biofilm formation," ''

Nature Chemical Biology ''Nature Chemical Biology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio. It was established in June 2005. Terry L. Sheppard is a full-time professional editor with the title, "Chief Editor", and employed by ''Nature ...

.'' * "Conformation of

microtubule Microtubules are polymers of tubulin that form part of the cytoskeleton and provide structure and shape to eukaryotic cells. Microtubules can be as long as 50 micrometres, as wide as 23 to 27 nm and have an inner diameter between 11 an ...

-bound

paclitaxel Paclitaxel (PTX), sold under the brand name Taxol among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma, cervical cancer ...

determined by fluorescence spectroscopy and REDOR NMR," ''

Biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

.'' * "

Oritavancin Oritavancin, sold under the brand name Orbactiv among others, is a semisynthetic glycopeptide antibiotic medication for the treatment of serious Gram-positive bacterial infections. Its chemical structure as a lipoglycopeptide is similar to vanc ...

exhibits dual mode of action to inhibit cell-wall biosynthesis in

Staphylococcus aureus ''Staphylococcus aureus'' is a Gram-positive spherically shaped bacterium, a member of the Bacillota, and is a usual member of the microbiota of the body, frequently found in the upper respiratory tract and on the skin. It is often positive ...

," ''

Journal of Molecular Biology The ''Journal of Molecular Biology'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of molecular biology. It was established in 1959 and is published by Elsevier. The editor-in-chief is Peter Wright ( The Scripps Research In ...

.'' * "

Mechanochemical Mechanochemistry (or mechanical chemistry) is the initiation of chemical reactions by mechanical phenomena. Mechanochemistry thus represents a fourth way to cause chemical reactions, complementing thermal reactions in fluids, photochemistry, and el ...

unzipping of insulating polyladderene to

semiconducting A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...

polyacetylene," ''

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

.'' * "

Phosphoethanolamine Phosphorylethanolamine or phosphoethanolamine is an ethanolamine derivative that is used to construct two different categories of phospholipids. One category termed a glycerophospholipid and the other a sphingomyelin, or more specifically within th ...

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...

: a naturally produced chemically modified cellulose," ''Science.''

Awards

Cegelski's work has earned her several awards: * Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) *

Burroughs Wellcome GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the tent ...

Career Award at the Scientific Interface, for "Mapping the structural and functional landscape of the microbial extracellular matrix." * 2010 NIH Director's New Innovator Award, for "Structure, Function, and Disruption of Microbial Amyloid Assembly and Biofilm Formation." * National Science Foundation CAREER Award, for "Form and Function of Bacterial Amyloid Fibers."

References

External links

Lab website

Lynette Cegelski
publications indexed by

Google Scholar Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in beta in November 2004, the Google Scholar index includes p ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cegelski, Lynette Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Stanford University Department of Chemistry faculty Washington University in St. Louis alumni 21st-century American biochemists Physical chemists 21st-century American chemists